Gas drive will not solve energy crisis, climate advisers tell Liz Truss
The government’s independent climate and infrastructure advisers have delivered an unprecedented rebuke to Liz Truss for focusing on attempts to increase the UK’s gas production to bring down energy prices instead of policies to reduce demand.
From her first hours in the job, the prime minister has prioritised a series of measures on energy policy to head off the cost of living crisis.
She will unveil a cap on energy price rises – though without extending the windfall tax on producers – freezing the average household energy bill at £2,500 a year.
She has also signalled a push to extract more gas and oil from the North Sea, accelerate the new licensing of North Sea oil and gas fields, and lift the moratorium on fracking, to try to increase gas production.
On Wednesday, the former Conservative environment secretary Lord Deben and Sir John Armitt, who chair the Committee on Climate Change and the National Infrastructure Commission respectively, wrote to Truss warning that ramping up gas production would not solve the problem.
They wrote: “The UK cannot address this crisis solely by increasing its production of natural gas. Greater domestic production of fossil fuels may improve energy security, particularly this winter.
“But our gas reserves – offshore or from shale – are too small to impact meaningfully the prices faced by UK consumers.”
The letter marks the first time the chairs of the independent advisory bodies have written jointly to a prime minister.
They advised Truss, along with the incoming chancellor and business secretary, to focus instead on bringing down energy demand from consumers and businesses.
“Energy security and reducing the UK’s exposure to volatile fossil fuel prices requires strong policies that reduce energy
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